The “Grace” robot, (short for Gliding Robot ACE), is a hybrid of an underwater glider and a robotic fish, and is both energy-efficient and highly maneuverable. It will be equipped with receivers that will detect the presence of fish implanted with acoustic-transmitting tags.

Grace will track the movements of lake trout, walleye and lake sturgeon to identify important habitats, understand why they move from one place to another, and how they are being affected by invasive species such as sea lampreys.

“Basically the robots will form an equivalent of a GPS satellite network underwater, to localize and follow tagged fish in their vicinity,” Tan says.

Tan earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 2002 and was advised by Professor John Baras (ECE/ISR) and Professor P. S. Krishnaprasad (ECE/ISR).

In September, Tan returned to Maryland to give a Maryland Robotics Center Lockheed Martin Robotics Seminar on “(Gliding) Robotic Fish: Swim or Not Swim.” You can watch the video of his presentation here.